Police officials fail to attend security meeting called by SC registrar

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court will take up important cases regarding elections as well as amendments made by the coalition government in the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999.

The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), headed by Maulana Fazlur Rehman, will stage a sit-in in front of the Supreme Court on Monday against Chief Justice of Pakistan Umer Ata Bandial, accusing him of facilitating and giving protocol to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan.

“The country’s Constitution has been put at risk for the sake of the PTI chairman,” the PDM head announced the other day in a press conference and appealed to the entire nation to reach Islamabad on Monday.

In this regard, the Supreme Court Registrar on Saturday convened a meeting of the Islamabad administration for chalking out a security plan and arrangements in view of the PDM sit-in in front of the Supreme Court on Monday.

It was learnt that the Registrar’s Office had summoned the Islamabad deputy commissioner, AIG (Special Branch), DIG (Operation) as well as SSP (Operation).

According to sources, except for the Islamabad deputy commissioner, no other officer of the Islamabad Police turned up at the meeting. At this, the Registrar expressed grave concerns.

Later, the Supreme Court Registrar directed the Islamabad deputy commissioner to ensure security arrangements on Monday as the PDM head Maulana Fazlur Rehman would stage a sit-in in front of the Supreme Court.

Besides, on Monday, a three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umer Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsen and Justice Munib Akhtar, will take up the review petition filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against the apex court’s order of April 4, fixing May 14 as the date for holding elections in Punjab.

The electoral watchdog had filed a review petition through its counsel Sajeel Shehryar Swati in the apex court under Article 188 of the Constitution, contending that appointing the date for the election is not the mandate of superior courts under the Constitution.

“With utmost deference, the fixing of the date for the election is not the mandate of superior courts under the Constitution,” the ECP had submitted, adding that such power exists elsewhere under the Constitution but certainly does not lie in a court of law and there is inherent wisdom in that.

Meanwhile, on May 16, another three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsen and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, will resume after two months the hearing on the PTI chairman’s petition, challenging the amendments made by the coalition government in the NAB law 1999.

During the last hearing held on March 16, the court had sought complete details pertaining to recoveries made by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to-date besides seeking details about the volume of recoveries so far made as well as its utilisation.